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Override function in base class

In the below example, I want to replace part of a calculation without having to re-implement the entire calculation in the derived sub classes.
class DummyCalcBase
{
public int changeable_part()
{
return 5;
}
public int common_calculation()
{
return 5 * changeable_part();
}
}
class DummyCalc : DummyCalcBase
{
public new int changeable_part()
{
return 10;
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int c = new DummyCalcBase().common_calculation();
Console.WriteLine("Base gives " + c.ToString());
int c2 = new DummyCalc().common_calculation();
Console.WriteLine("Calc gives " + c2.ToString());
}
}
This then gives output:
Base gives 25
Calc gives 25
What I would like is to get DummyCalc().common_calculation() to call the new changeable_part (and give the answer 50).
This would mean I don't have to copy and paste the same method into sub classes.

you can override method if it is virtual
class DummyCalcBase
{
public virtual int changeable_part()
{
return 5;
}
public int common_calculation()
{
return 5 * changeable_part();
}
}
class DummyCalc : DummyCalcBase
{
public override int changeable_part()
{
return 10;
}
}
methods with new keyword only hide methods of base class
if method is virtual, the following code will compute 50:
DummyCalcBase dummy = new DummyCalc();
int calc = dummy.common_calculation();
SO: new vs override difference

Mark the method in the base class as either virtual if you want to provide a default implementation that derived types can override, or abstract if you want to leave the implementation up to derived types.
Then simply override those methods in your derived types, and provide functionality as needed.

If your scenario is as simple as you describe here, go for the virtual method, with an override method in the sub-class. If your calculation is more complex, you should take a look at the strategy pattern: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategy_pattern
Your code will than look something like this:
public interface IStrategy
{
int getValue();
}
public class Context
{
private readonly IStrategy strategy;
public Context(IStrategy strategy)
{
this.strategy = strategy;
}
public int common_calculation()
{
return 5 * strategy.getValue();
}
}
public class FiveStrategy : IStrategy
{
public int getValue()
{
return 5;
}
}
public class TenStrategy : IStrategy
{
public int getValue()
{
return 10;
}
}
internal class Program
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
var context5 = new Context(new FiveStrategy());
Console.WriteLine(context5.common_calculation());
var context10 = new Context(new TenStrategy());
Console.WriteLine(context10.common_calculation());
Console.ReadLine();
}
}

Cloning a method in c#

Suppose I have a class A:
class A
{
void b() {...}
}
and a class B:
class B
{
A m;
}
This way, if I write B x, I can call x.m.b().
What I need is to dynamically create a method b() inside the B class, so I could use it as x.b() (of course, the results from calls x.m.b() and x.b() should be the same).
How can I do it?

There is one generic solution (where you won't have to f.e create delegates for every method from A you want). Unfortunately, It won't be a strongly-typed one. If you want so, please see other answers.
class A
{
public int B()
{
return 1;
}
}
class B : DynamicObject
{
private readonly A m = new A();
private static readonly Lazy<IEnumerable<MethodInfo>> AMethods =
new Lazy<IEnumerable<MethodInfo>>(() =>
{
var type = typeof (A);
return type.GetMethods(
BindingFlags.Instance |
BindingFlags.Public);
});
public override bool TryInvokeMember(
InvokeMemberBinder binder,
object[] args,
out object result)
{
if (base.TryInvokeMember(binder, args, out result))
{
return true;
}
var methods = AMethods.Value;
var method = methods.SingleOrDefault(mth => mth.Name == binder.Name);
// TODO: additional match (arguments type to handle overloads)
if (method == null)
{
result = null;
return false;
}
result = method.Invoke(this.m, args);
return true;
}
public int OtherBMethods()
{
return 2;
}
}
Usage:
var b = new B();
int result = ((dynamic)b).B();
int other = b.OtherBMethods();
or
dynamic b = new B();
int result = b.B();
int other = b.OtherBMethods();

You could do this with delegates, in modern C# this could look like this
public class A
{
public void b() {...}
}
public class B
{
private A m = new A();
public Action b = ()=>m.b();
}
public void Main()
{
new B().b(); // This now invokes your delegates that invokes the b method on it's internal m object
}
Could also just do it with classical methods and simply expose a b method that does the exact same thing, don't see anything special / hard here? If you're trying to accomplish something else you need to clarify your question, like if you want to automate this there are easy compile time (T4 text templates) or at runtime (generating dynamic proxies).

What you are going to do is implement Decorator pattern in C#.
GoF defines Decorator pattern as "Attach additional responsibilities
to an object dynamically. Decorators provide a flexible alternative to
subclassing for extending functionality.
I would like to recommend look throught this article "Understanding and Implementing Decorator Pattern in C#".
I have created a simple example of the Decorator pattern implementation when you decorate Concrete with A and B functionality.
interface IDecorator
{
void Print();
}
class Concrete : IDecorator
{
public void Print()
{
Console.WriteLine("-> Concrete");
}
}
class A : IDecorator
{
IDecorator decorator;
public A(IDecorator decorator)
{
this.decorator = decorator;
}
public void Print()
{
decorator.Print();
Console.WriteLine("-> A");
}
}
class B : IDecorator
{
IDecorator decorator;
public B(IDecorator decorator)
{
this.decorator = decorator;
}
public void Print()
{
decorator.Print();
Console.WriteLine("-> B");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
Console.WriteLine("concrete object that should be decorated");
var concrete = new Concrete();
concrete.Print();
Console.WriteLine("let's decorate this object with A decorator");
var decoratedWithA = new A(concrete);
decoratedWithA.Print();
Console.WriteLine("let's decorate this object with B decorator");
var decoratedWithB = new B(concrete);
decoratedWithB.Print();
Console.WriteLine("let's decorate concrete with A and B");
var decoratedWithAB = new B(new A(concrete));
decoratedWithAB.Print();
}
}
I have an abstract A class and classes A1 : A, A2 : A, A3 : A. Then i
also have a method named c(). I want to create classes
A1_with_c_method, A2_with_c_method, A3_with_c_methos while leaving A1,
A2 and A3 unharmed. What is the best way to do this? – h8red
You could do something like this:
abstract class A
{
}
class A1 : A
{
}
class A2 : A
{
}
class A3 : A
{
}
#region Not a good idea, because too many classes
class A1_with_c : A1
{
public void c() { }
}
class A2_with_c : A2
{
public void c() { }
}
class A3_with_c : A3
{
public void c() { }
}
#endregion
// Decorate A with the c() method
class BaseDecorator
{
public A Instance { get; private set; }
public BaseDecorator(A instance)
{
Instance = instance;
}
public virtual void c()
{
// do something with instance
}
}
class Decorator : BaseDecorator
{
BaseDecorator decorator;
public Decorator(BaseDecorator decorator)
: base(decorator.Instance)
{
this.decorator = decorator;
}
public override void c()
{
Console.WriteLine("Ok");
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
// not good
new A1_with_c().c();
new A2_with_c().c();
new A3_with_c().c();
// better
var a_with_c = new BaseDecorator(new A1());
a_with_c.c();
// Let's decorate with something interesting
new Decorator(a_with_c).c();
}
}

I agree with the comments that this really seems odd and I'm wondering why you would ever want to do this but here is a possibility for you.
interface IHasMethodb
{
void b();
}
class A : IHasMethodb
{
public void b() { ... }
}
class B : IHasMethodb
{
A m;
public void b() { return m.b(); }
}
Is this what you're trying to do?

It seems like you either want the concept of wrapping a method, which in your example is as simple as:
class A {
public void b() { ... }
}
class B {
A m;
public void b() { m.b(); }
}
Allowing you to:
B x = new B();
x.b();
If you want to be able to "dynamically create" the method then this might be more applicable, using an Action<T> to allow you to do whatever you like with the A instance, without actually exposing it:
class A {
public void b() {...}
}
class B {
A m;
public Action<A> doSomethingWithA;
public void b() {
if (doSomethingWithA != null)
doSomethingWithA(m);
}
}
Then you can:
B x = new B();
x.doSomethingWithA = a => a.b();
x.b();

Is it possible to create a derived class from a base class constructor?

I have say 3 classes, Animal, Cat & Dog.
// calling code
var x = new Animal("Rex"); // would like this to return a dog type
var x = new Animal("Mittens"); // would like this to return a cat type
if(x.GetType() == typeof(Dog))
{
x.Bark();
}
else
{
x.Meow();
}
class Animal
{
public Animal(string name)
{
// check against some list of dog names ... find rex
// return Animal of type Dog.
// if not...
// check against some list of cat names ... find mittens
// return Animal of type Cat.
}
}
Is this possible somehow? If not is there something similar I can do?

What you are looking for is either a 'virtual constructor' (not possibe in C#) or the Factory pattern.
class Animal
{
// Factory method
public static Animal Create(string name)
{
Animal animal = null;
... // some logic based on 'name'
animal = new Zebra();
return animal;
}
}
The Factory method can also be placed in another (Factory) class. That gives better decoupling etc.

No. Basically the right fix is to use a static method which can create an instance of the right type:
var x = Animal.ForName("Rex");
var x = Animal.ForName("Mittens");
...
public abstract class Animal
{
public static Animal ForName(string name)
{
if (dogNames.Contains(name))
{
return new Dog(name);
}
else
{
return new Cat(name);
}
}
}
Or this could be an instance method in an AnimalFactory type (or whatever). That would be a more extensible approach - the factory could implement an interface, for example, and could be injected into the class which needed to create the instances. It really depends on the context though - sometimes that approach is overkill.
Basically, a new Foo(...) call always creates an instance of exactly Foo. Whereas a static method declared with a return type of Foo can return a reference to any type which is compatible with Foo.

No I dont think it is possible in the way that you want.
You could create a static class that has a method that returns an animal based on a name e.g.
static Animal CreateAnimal(string name)
{
if(catList.Contains(name))
return new Cat(name");
else if(dogList.Contains(name))
return new Dog(name);
return null;
}

The other answers show that you need to use a factory pattern but I wanted to give you a more "practical" example of how you would do it. I did exactly what you where doing, however I was working with the EPL2 printer language. When I saw X I needed to create a instance of class Rectangle, when I saw A I needed to create a instance of class Text.
(I wrote this a long time ago so I am sure some of the things I did could be improved upon).
public partial class Epl2CommandFactory
{
#region Singelton pattern
private static volatile Epl2CommandFactory m_instance;
private static object m_syncRoot = new object();
public static Epl2CommandFactory Instance
{
get
{
if (m_instance == null)
{
lock (m_syncRoot)
{
if (m_instance == null)
{
m_instance = new Epl2CommandFactory();
}
}
}
return m_instance;
}
}
#endregion
#region Constructor
private Epl2CommandFactory()
{
m_generalCommands = new Dictionary<string, Type>();
Initialize();
}
#endregion
#region Variables
private Dictionary<string, Type> m_generalCommands;
private Assembly m_asm;
#endregion
#region Helpers
private void Initialize()
{
Assembly asm = Assembly.GetAssembly(GetType());
Type[] allTypes = asm.GetTypes();
foreach (Type type in allTypes)
{
// Only scan classes that are not abstract
if (type.IsClass && !type.IsAbstract)
{
// If a class implements the IEpl2FactoryProduct interface,
// which allows retrieval of the product class key...
Type iEpl2FactoryProduct = type.GetInterface("IEpl2GeneralFactoryProduct");
if (iEpl2FactoryProduct != null)
{
// Create a temporary instance of that class...
object inst = asm.CreateInstance(type.FullName);
if (inst != null)
{
// And generate the product classes key
IEpl2GeneralFactoryProduct keyDesc = (IEpl2GeneralFactoryProduct)inst;
string key = keyDesc.GetFactoryKey();
m_generalCommands.Add(key, type);
inst = null;
}
}
}
}
m_asm = asm;
}
#endregion
#region Methods
public IEpl2Command CreateEpl2Command(string command)
{
if (command == null)
throw new NullReferenceException("Invalid command supplied, must be " +
"non-null.");
Type type;
if (!m_generalCommands.TryGetValue(command.Substring(0, 2), out type))
m_generalCommands.TryGetValue(command.Substring(0, 1), out type);
if (type != default(Type))
{
object inst = m_asm.CreateInstance(type.FullName, true,
BindingFlags.CreateInstance,
null, null, null, null);
if (inst == null)
throw new NullReferenceException("Null product instance. " +
"Unable to create necessary product class.");
IEpl2Command prod = (IEpl2Command)inst;
prod.CommandString = command;
return prod;
}
else
{
return null;
}
}
#endregion
}
The way the code works is I use the singleton pattern to create a factory class so people can call var command = Epl2CommandFactory.Instance.CreateEpl2Command("..."); passing in the EPL2 command string and it returns a instance of the class that represents that specific class.
During initialization I use reflection to find classes that support the IEpl2GeneralFactoryProduct interface, if the class supports the interface the factory stores the one or two letter code representing the printer command in a dictionary of types.
When you try to create the command the factory looks up the printer command in the dictionary and creates the correct class, it then passes the full command string on to that class for further processing.
Here is a copy of a command class and it's parents if you wanted to see it
Rectangle:
[XmlInclude(typeof(Rectangle))]
public abstract partial class Epl2CommandBase { }
/// <summary>
/// Use this command to draw a box shape.
/// </summary>
public class Rectangle : DrawableItemBase, IEpl2GeneralFactoryProduct
{
#region Constructors
public Rectangle() : base() { }
public Rectangle(Point startingLocation, int horozontalEndPosition, int verticalEndPosition)
: base(startingLocation)
{
HorizontalEndPosition = horozontalEndPosition;
VerticalEndPosition = verticalEndPosition;
}
public Rectangle(int x, int y, int lineThickness, int horozontalEndPosition, int verticalEndPosition)
: base(x, y)
{
LineThickness = lineThickness;
HorizontalEndPosition = horozontalEndPosition;
VerticalEndPosition = verticalEndPosition;
}
#endregion
#region Properties
[XmlIgnore]
public int LineThickness { get; set; }
[XmlIgnore]
public int HorizontalEndPosition {get; set;}
[XmlIgnore]
public int VerticalEndPosition { get; set; }
public override string CommandString
{
get
{
return String.Format("X{0},{1},{2},{3},{4}", X, Y, LineThickness, HorizontalEndPosition, VerticalEndPosition);
}
set
{
GenerateCommandFromText(value);
}
}
#endregion
#region Helpers
private void GenerateCommandFromText(string command)
{
if (!command.StartsWith(GetFactoryKey()))
throw new ArgumentException("Command must begin with " + GetFactoryKey());
string[] commands = command.Substring(1).Split(',');
this.X = int.Parse(commands[0]);
this.Y = int.Parse(commands[1]);
this.LineThickness = int.Parse(commands[2]);
this.HorizontalEndPosition = int.Parse(commands[3]);
this.VerticalEndPosition = int.Parse(commands[4]);
}
#endregion
#region Members
public override void Paint(Graphics g, Image buffer)
{
using (Pen p = new Pen(Color.Black, LineThickness))
{
g.DrawRectangle(p, new System.Drawing.Rectangle(X, Y, HorizontalEndPosition - X, VerticalEndPosition - Y));
}
}
public string GetFactoryKey()
{
return "X";
}
#endregion
}
DrawableItemBase:
public abstract class DrawableItemBase : Epl2CommandBase, IDrawableCommand
{
protected DrawableItemBase()
{
Location = new Point();
}
protected DrawableItemBase(Point location)
{
Location = location;
}
protected DrawableItemBase(int x, int y)
{
Location = new Point();
X = x;
Y = y;
}
private Point _Location;
[XmlIgnore]
public virtual Point Location
{
get { return _Location; }
set { _Location = value; }
}
[XmlIgnore]
public int X
{
get { return _Location.X; }
set { _Location.X = value; }
}
[XmlIgnore]
public int Y
{
get { return _Location.Y; }
set { _Location.Y = value; }
}
abstract public void Paint(Graphics g, Image buffer);
}
Epl2CommandBase:
public abstract partial class Epl2CommandBase : IEpl2Command
{
protected Epl2CommandBase() { }
public virtual byte[] GenerateByteCommand()
{
return Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(CommandString + '\n');
}
public abstract string CommandString { get; set; }
}
Various Interfaces:
public interface IEpl2GeneralFactoryProduct
{
string GetFactoryKey();
}
public interface IEpl2Command
{
string CommandString { get; set; }
}
public interface IDrawableCommand : IEpl2Command
{
void Paint(System.Drawing.Graphics g, System.Drawing.Image buffer);
}

Need something like static inheritance in C#

I'm having a small design issue and wanted to consult.
Lets say we have the following class hierarchy:
abstract class A
{
}
class B : A
{
}
class C: A
{
}
I want that both B and C have a certain field x so that it's value is different between the classes but shared among all instances of the same class (i.e: if b1, b2 are instances of B and c1,c2 instances of C then b1.x = b2.x and c1.x = c2.x and b1.x != c1.x).
Is there an elegant way to do this by taking advantage of the fact that both B, C derive from the same base class or do I have to create a static field x in both classes?
Thanks in advance.

You mean like this?
abstract class A
{
static Dictionary<Type, int> all_x;
protected int X {
get { return all_x[GetType()]; }
set { all_x[GetType()] = value; }
}
}
If it has to be a field so you can pass by reference:
abstract class A
{
class SharedType { int x; }
static Dictionary<Type, SharedType> all_shared;
protected SharedType Shared {
get
{
Type t = GetType();
SharedType result;
if (!all_shared.TryGetValue(t, out result) {
result = new SharedType();
all_shared.Add(t, result);
}
return result;
}
}
}
Also, we can improve performance by doing the lookup only once per instance:
abstract class A
{
class SharedType { int x; }
static Dictionary<Type, SharedType> all_shared;
protected SharedType Shared;
A() {
Type t = GetType();
if (!all_shared.TryGetValue(t, out Shared) {
Shared = new SharedType();
all_shared.Add(t, Shared);
}
}
}

What should those values be for the field x? If you need to specify that the value of x for A should be "a", the value of x for B should be "b" etc., then you will have to specify the values "a", "b", ... somewhere and then you mught as well just use:
abstract class A {
public static int x = 1; // Just using "int" as example.
}
class B : A {
public static int x = 2;
}
If you do not care what the values are (which type do you need then) but merely want the values to be "different", then instead of using fields you could use something like:
abstract class A {
public int X { get { return this.GetType().GetHashCode(); } }
}
This does not take hash collisions into account, but maybe it is useful anyway?
What is it you are trying to achieve?

To build on Ben Voigt's first answer, I think what you want for your base class is this:
public abstract class A
{
private static ConcurrentDictionary<Type, int> _typeIDs = new ConcurrentDictionary<Type, int>();
private static int _nextID = 1;
public int TypeID
{
get
{
return _typeIDs.GetOrAdd(this.GetType(), type => System.Threading.Interlocked.Increment(ref _nextID));
}
}
}

public abstract class A
{
public abstract int Value { get; }
}
public class B : A
{
public override int Value { get { return 1; } }
}
public class C : A
{
public override int Value { get { return 2; } }
}

The only way I know to do this is if you make class A a generic class, i.e. class A<T>. Then have class B implement a different type for the generic type than the generic type that Class C implements.
If you don't use generics, then I believe this is impossible in .NET.
Here is an example where lets say the value you were interested in was a data structure with members int Foo and string Bar. One derive class could implement the an identical structure (but different derived type) than the other - the two structures would implement the same interface.
interface IAvalue
{
int Foo { get; set;}
string Bar {get; set;}
}
struct BValue
: IAvalue
{
public int Foo { get; set; }
public string Bar { get; set; }
}
struct CValue
: IAvalue
{
public int Foo { get; set; }
public string Bar { get; set; }
}
abstract class A<T> where T : IAvalue
{
protected static T myValue;
}
class B : A<BValue>
{
static B()
{
myValue.Foo = 1;
myValue.Bar = "text1";
}
}
class C : A<CValue>
{
static C()
{
myValue.Foo = 2;
myValue.Bar = "text2";
}
}

You can use one .net feature: If you have static data members in a generic class, .net creates different instances of static data members for each generic type you use.
So, you can write:
public abstract class A<T> where T : A<T>
{
protected static int myVariable { get; set; }
}
And inherit your classes as:
public class B : A<B>
{
public B()
{
myVariable = 1;
}
public int GetVariable()
{
return myVariable;
}
}
public class C : A<C>
{
public C()
{
myVariable = 2;
}
public int GetVariable()
{
return myVariable;
}
}
Then every instance of B will have shared access to one instance of myVariable and every instance of C will have shared access to another.
So, if you add Set(int a) method:
public void Set(int a)
{
myVariable = a;
}
And run the following code:
static void Main(string[] args)
{
B b1 = new B();
C c1 = new C();
B b2 = new B();
C c2 = new C();
Console.Write("{0}; ", b1.GetVariable()); // 1
Console.Write("{0}; ", b2.GetVariable()); // 1
Console.Write("{0}; ", c1.GetVariable()); // 2
Console.Write("{0}; ", c2.GetVariable()); // 2
Console.WriteLine();
c2.Set(333);
Console.Write("{0}; ", b1.GetVariable()); // 1
Console.Write("{0}; ", b2.GetVariable()); // 1
Console.Write("{0}; ", c1.GetVariable()); // 333
Console.Write("{0}; ", c2.GetVariable()); // 333
Console.ReadLine();
}
You get: 1; 1; 2; 2;
1; 1; 333; 333; output.

I would suggest defining a static Dictionary<Type, Integer[]>, and having the base-class constructor call GetType() on itself and see if it's yet in the static dictionary. If not, create a new single-element array and store it in the dictionary. Otherwise grab the array from the dictionary and store it in an instance field. Then define a property which reads or writes element zero of the array. This approach will achieve the requested semantics for all derivatives and sub-derivatives of the class.

Call one constructor from another

I have two constructors which feed values to readonly fields.
public class Sample
{
public Sample(string theIntAsString)
{
int i = int.Parse(theIntAsString);
_intField = i;
}
public Sample(int theInt) => _intField = theInt;
public int IntProperty => _intField;
private readonly int _intField;
}
One constructor receives the values directly, and the other does some calculation and obtains the values, then sets the fields.
Now here's the catch:
I don't want to duplicate the
setting code. In this case, just one
field is set but of course there may
well be more than one.
To make the fields readonly, I need
to set them from the constructor, so
I can't "extract" the shared code to
a utility function.
I don't know how to call one
constructor from another.
Any ideas?

Like this:
public Sample(string str) : this(int.Parse(str)) { }

If what you want can't be achieved satisfactorily without having the initialization in its own method (e.g. because you want to do too much before the initialization code, or wrap it in a try-finally, or whatever) you can have any or all constructors pass the readonly variables by reference to an initialization routine, which will then be able to manipulate them at will.
public class Sample
{
private readonly int _intField;
public int IntProperty => _intField;
private void setupStuff(ref int intField, int newValue) => intField = newValue;
public Sample(string theIntAsString)
{
int i = int.Parse(theIntAsString);
setupStuff(ref _intField,i);
}
public Sample(int theInt) => setupStuff(ref _intField, theInt);
}

Before the body of the constructor, use either:
: base (parameters)
: this (parameters)
Example:
public class People: User
{
public People (int EmpID) : base (EmpID)
{
// Add more statements here.
}
}

I am improving upon supercat's answer. I guess the following can also be done:
class Sample
{
private readonly int _intField;
public int IntProperty
{
get { return _intField; }
}
void setupStuff(ref int intField, int newValue)
{
//Do some stuff here based upon the necessary initialized variables.
intField = newValue;
}
public Sample(string theIntAsString, bool? doStuff = true)
{
//Initialization of some necessary variables.
//==========================================
int i = int.Parse(theIntAsString);
// ................
// .......................
//==========================================
if (!doStuff.HasValue || doStuff.Value == true)
setupStuff(ref _intField,i);
}
public Sample(int theInt): this(theInt, false) //"false" param to avoid setupStuff() being called two times
{
setupStuff(ref _intField, theInt);
}
}

Here is an example that calls another constructor, then checks on the property it has set.
public SomeClass(int i)
{
I = i;
}
public SomeClass(SomeOtherClass soc)
: this(soc.J)
{
if (I==0)
{
I = DoSomethingHere();
}
}

Yeah, you can call other method before of the call base or this!
public class MyException : Exception
{
public MyException(int number) : base(ConvertToString(number))
{
}
private static string ConvertToString(int number)
{
return number.toString()
}
}

Constructor chaining i.e you can use "Base" for Is a relationship and "This" you can use for same class, when you want call multiple Constructor in single call.
class BaseClass
{
public BaseClass():this(10)
{
}
public BaseClass(int val)
{
}
}
class Program
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
new BaseClass();
ReadLine();
}
}

When you inherit a class from a base class, you can invoke the base class constructor by instantiating the derived class
class sample
{
public int x;
public sample(int value)
{
x = value;
}
}
class der : sample
{
public int a;
public int b;
public der(int value1,int value2) : base(50)
{
a = value1;
b = value2;
}
}
class run
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
der obj = new der(10,20);
System.Console.WriteLine(obj.x);
System.Console.WriteLine(obj.a);
System.Console.WriteLine(obj.b);
}
}
Output of the sample program is
50 10 20
You can also use this keyword to invoke a constructor from another constructor
class sample
{
public int x;
public sample(int value)
{
x = value;
}
public sample(sample obj) : this(obj.x)
{
}
}
class run
{
public static void Main(string[] args)
{
sample s = new sample(20);
sample ss = new sample(s);
System.Console.WriteLine(ss.x);
}
}
The output of this sample program is
20

Error handling and making your code reusable is key. I added string to int validation and it is possible to add other types if needed. Solving this problem with a more reusable solution could be this:
public class Sample
{
public Sample(object inputToInt)
{
_intField = objectToInt(inputToInt);
}
public int IntProperty => _intField;
private readonly int _intField;
}
public static int objectToInt(object inputToInt)
{
switch (inputToInt)
{
case int inputInt:
return inputInt;
break;
case string inputString:
if (!int.TryParse(inputString, out int parsedInt))
{
throw new InvalidParameterException($"The input {inputString} could not be parsed to int");
}
return parsedInt;
default:
throw new InvalidParameterException($"Constructor do not support {inputToInt.GetType().Name}");
break;
}
}

Please, please, and pretty please do not try this at home, or work, or anywhere really.
This is a way solve to a very very specific problem, and I hope you will not have that.
I'm posting this since it is technically an answer, and another perspective to look at it.
I repeat, do not use it under any condition. Code is to run with LINQPad.
void Main()
{
(new A(1)).Dump();
(new B(2, -1)).Dump();
var b2 = new B(2, -1);
b2.Increment();
b2.Dump();
}
class A
{
public readonly int I = 0;
public A(int i)
{
I = i;
}
}
class B: A
{
public int J;
public B(int i, int j): base(i)
{
J = j;
}
public B(int i, bool wtf): base(i)
{
}
public void Increment()
{
int i = I + 1;
var t = typeof(B).BaseType;
var ctor = t.GetConstructors().First();
ctor.Invoke(this, new object[] { i });
}
}
Since constructor is a method, you can call it with reflection. Now you either think with portals, or visualize a picture of a can of worms. sorry about this.

In my case, I had a main constructor that used an OracleDataReader as an argument, but I wanted to use different query to create the instance:
I had this code:
public Subscriber(OracleDataReader contractReader)
{
this.contract = Convert.ToString(contractReader["contract"]);
this.customerGroup = Convert.ToString(contractReader["customerGroup"]);
this.subGroup = Convert.ToString(contractReader["customerSubGroup"]);
this.pricingPlan= Convert.ToString(contractReader["pricingPlan"]);
this.items = new Dictionary<string, Member>();
this.status = 0;
}
So I created the following constructor:
public Subscriber(string contract, string customerGroup) : this(getSubReader(contract, customerGroup))
{ }
and this method:
private static OracleDataReader getSubReader(string contract, string customerGroup)
{
cmdSubscriber.Parameters[":contract"].Value = contract + "%";
cmdSubscriber.Parameters[":customerGroup"].Value = customerGroup+ "%";
return cmdSubscriber.ExecuteReader();
}
notes: a statically defined cmdSubscriber is defined elsewhere in the code; My main constructor has been simplified for this illustration.

In case you need to run something before calling another constructor not after.
public class Sample
{
static int preprocess(string theIntAsString)
{
return preprocess(int.Parse(theIntAsString));
}
static int preprocess(int theIntNeedRounding)
{
return theIntNeedRounding/100;
}
public Sample(string theIntAsString)
{
_intField = preprocess(theIntAsString)
}
public Sample(int theIntNeedRounding)
{
_intField = preprocess(theIntNeedRounding)
}
public int IntProperty => _intField;
private readonly int _intField;
}
And ValueTuple can be very helpful if you need to set more than one field.

NOTE: most of the solutions above does not work for structs.
Unfortunately initializing struct fields in a method called by a constructor is not recognized by the compiler and will lead to 2 errors:
in the constructor: Field xxxx must be fully assigned...
in the method, if you have readonly fields: a read-only field cannot be assigned except in a constructor.
These can be really frustrating for example when you just need to do simple check to decide on which constructor to orient your call to.